Thank you for helping to make 2016 another great year for Entropia Universe. The combined efforts of MindArk, the planet partners and you, the community, have resulted in new accounts growing by nearly 12% and overall economic activity increasing by 5.3% during 2016.

Our continued efforts at improving the experience for new participants contributed to that growth, as did the support of community members and existing participants in welcoming and mentoring new Entropians. MindArk will continue to improve the experiences and resources available to newcomers, including in-game and video tutorials, educational missions, improving the mentor/disciple system and rewards, and additional support for community efforts aimed at new participants.

Since starting at MindArk in my first position as Technical Director, I have worked relentlessly on improving the performance and quality of the Entropia Universe experience. Since last year’s State of the Universe Address, MindArk has continued those efforts and I am proud to report that Entropia Universe has never been more capable or reliable in terms of client and server performance.

2016 in Retrospect

During 2016, the content focus of MindArk and the planet partners was on missions, storylines and events. Our goal is for Entropia Universe to offer a variety of exciting and engaging gameplay, and social and entrepreneurial experiences for participants of all interests. We look forward to deepening and expanding the storylines and lore of Entropia Universe and Planet Calypso in the content planned for the coming year.

Dynamic Event at Fort Lahar, Planet Calypso

MindArk has also been working on new and improved platform systems that will provide more powerful tools for our planet partners to deploy engaging content for all participants. One such system released during 2016 is the Dynamic Event System, currently being tested on Calypso. This new system integrates event objectives and avatar participation with the existing mission tracker interface, and provides new tools for planet partners to create and manage more dynamic and engaging official events. Once that system is extended and refined, it will be made available to all planet partners in 2017.

MindArk released Entropia Pocket in 2016, a free mobile application for Android and iOS that integrates a two-factor authentication solution to provide comprehensive account security for all Entropia Universe participants.

Entropia Pocket; 2-Factor Authentication

The Entropia Pocket app also provides real-time alerts about important events and news from within Entropia Universe. We plan to add additional features to Entropia Pocket moving forward, so be sure to get it installed on your mobile devices and keep up to date with the latest Entropia Universe news and developments.

We have also added support for additional character sets in the Entropia Universe client chat interface, allowing participants to communicate in Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Hindi and more.

What Lies Ahead

Our immediate plans for 2017 include the recently announced Battle Simulator, a new platform-wide system geared toward short bursts of fast-paced gameplay. For more details about this exciting new addition to Entropia Universe, be sure to follow the Entropia Buzz page.

MindArk also plans to address many of the existing issues affecting interplanetary Space gameplay, specifically ship balance and travel. Once those important balance issues are resolved, we look forward to implemented new and previously planned features, such as galactic transport.

The opportunities and potential of Virtual Reality (VR) is another area that really fascinates all of us here at MindArk, and we have made efforts during 2016 to explore ideas that may enhance the Entropia Universe experience for existing and future participants by leveraging recent advances in VR software and hardware technology.

The Land Plot system will also see further development and expansion in 2017. A core aspect of the uniqueness of Entropia Universe is the opportunity for participants to invest in their avatar progression and holdings over time, and housing is an important part of that experience. We aim to progressively develop the housing system to foster the creation of vibrant and bustling cities and towns.

Conclusion

Finally, speaking of investments, I would like to briefly discuss MindArk’s plans for ComPet. ComPet has been fully released on Android, and is planned for release on iOS and Steam within the next few months. As promised, we are also working on the integration between ComPet and Entropia Universe, offering an innovative cross-platform and cross-genre gaming experience.

That being said, Entropia Universe is the primary product and focus of MindArk, and will continue to be so. In developing ComPet as an alternative gaming experience, MindArk has added an offering to complement and promote Entropia Universe. This is an effort that MindArk would like to continue, expanding and complementing Entropia Universe with new projects and experiences, thereby creating interesting and exciting growth opportunities in the upcoming year and beyond.

Finally I would like to thank you all for making Entropia Universe into this fantastic Virtual Universe experience and look forward to seeing you in both ComPet and Entropia during 2017 and beyond!

Given MA's development history the scope discussed in this year's add sounds kind of realistic. Not sure whether that's good or bad...

Also, "new accounts growing by nearly 12% and overall economic activity increasing by 5.3%"? I mean... new accounts is just a function of advertising budget... Almost sounds like more important parameters are not really growing.

Better client and server performance, improvements here and there, that's good of course, but that's not much.

And the future?

A battle simulator nobody has asked for, sidestepping other features, planet partner development and revenue, etc etc, well, it's not really needed and it might be deserted before fully released...

Land plot system! Certainly a lot of room for improvements. Great opportunities in general. But that's also ongoing for almost 6 years already?

VR? What for? EU and VR are not really made for each other. In the context of EU VR will be a niche interface gimmick more than in most other games. I mean, half of EU's population would be fine with an interface like below, so...

State of the Universe Address 2018 I want to see this:

Complete overhaul of EUs interface. EU's interface is cluttered and inconsistent. A result of various developments in various directions, some of which never finished, some of which obviously implemented rather thoughtlessly. Let's make the interface slick, modern, easy to use, with a consistent look and feel, and no exceptions.

Complete overhaul of avatar movement and interactions. Controlling an avatar in EU often feels sluggish, interactions look weird. Let's make it smooth, yet more real, actually fun to control your avatar.

Complete overhaul of the society system. That thing is 12 years old or so, a remnant from another age. Retention is everything, embedding in the community a major factor in it, consequently the society system a very important feature. Let's renovate, improve and expand it. Society property, trading, services, competitions, missions, challenges, alliances, stats, etc.

Quality of life. A lot of small improvements resulting in a better experience. For example the mapping system, the radar, what about stats and logs, equipment recommendations, better accessibility, etc etc. Also perfect opportunity to emphasize the player economy aspects of EU. Let's make mapping, teleporting, auctioning, radar, stats/logs, etc new upgradable features, partially provided by the player community.

Also, "new accounts growing by nearly 12% and overall economic activity increasing by 5.3%"? I mean... new accounts is just a function of advertising budget... Almost sounds like more important parameters are not really growing.

Land plot system! Certainly a lot of room for improvements. Great opportunities in general. But that's also ongoing for almost 6 years already?

Click to expand...

Announced in early 2015, it sounds indeed like there might be 1 or 2 additions in late 2017, that could get postponed ofc. ;)
Nothing spectatcular anyway, nothing that will "investors" make rich, but there will be updates. xP

VR? What for? EU and VR are not really made for each other. In the context of EU VR will be a niche interface gimmick more than in most other games. I mean, half of EU's population would be fine with an interface like below, so...

Click to expand...

I think they cleary mean Compets VR mini game when talking VR... ;D(or what was this giant announceent of fully integratign oculus rift into eu about again ?)That was May 2015...2 years later they are still fascinated about VR at MA...come on...what do you really expect here except for some more announcements about how they are "still fascinated" by VR in 2019 ? ;)

Lets head over to your expectations.(you got to lower these by 200%)

But let me tell you, it was either there already and got removed, or got announced and then forgotten or deleayed (as always)
which is the saddest part of this MMO :

Old soc terminals

CE2 promises

Harvesting plants in 2000

Meat extractor (2000)

Foods and beverages (2000)

Hangars (space) anyone ?

Old Avatar Inventory, never worked anyway (2000-2005)

etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. you know I could go on for ages.

All of the above might come one day...but remember, it was already here...

But should it come to the point, something big becomes real, in terms of MA, lets say it with the words of the "Gigantic Sports Stadium", with breathtaking games and thousands of visitors and...

"Hey, why dont I just ride my Atrox into the sunset right now ?"

But indeed, for the very 1st time I SEE a totally realistic timeline here...which doesnt sound too promosing...but realistic.
Maybe reality catched up with Mindark. Again I SEE absolutely no reason to put anymore money into this world.

What had priorities in 2015 and was promised for 2016 (Space, Stables, Gardening, Harvesting, Taming, Battle Octagons blahhh blahhh blaaahhh!) is now getting clouded by a BattleSim attempt. And do I need to mention that most of the stuff had promises before (priorities in 2015 and 2014 and 2013)

The info I always seem to miss regarding the Battle Simulator: how much is it? If "the Battle Simulator runs parallel to the existing Real Cash economy" but "will also contribute to the economy of Entropia Universe as a whole" then the question is how exactly? The only conclusion would be that there is decay and consumption, possibly entrance fees, but obviously nothing to gain, except for the few tournament winners maybe.

I think you guys have more or less covered what I would say. Indeed it seems the most realistic SOTU ever. In short:

"last year we worked on optimisation and stability as well as missions and made a nifty new extension to the event engine. New players went up and the economy increased so don't worry, we are still in business. This year we will make the nifty event extension available to PP's and release something else that no one asked for. There is a chance we may come back to the Land system but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Space, yeh... we know. We'll think about it - can't promise more than that at this stage. We had a quick gander at VR then realised that DX9 is kinda out and besides, even with our best efforts, we still struggle to get a consistent framerate or quality of graphical content. Its a pipe dream really right now. That said, we ARE Mindark and if there is one thing you CAN say about us, is that we are resilient. Entropia has hung on a long time while other MMO crazes have come and gone and we plan to keep on doing so. We'll have VR in mind for the next 10 years or so, if it becomes popular, it will definitely be a fun thing for us to work towards by 2030 maybe. Tarra till next year - Klas"

Activities in Entropia Universe usually require a certain amount of planning and preparation. This takes time. Furthermore, it can be difficult for new players to compete with veterans who have accumulated high skill levels and equipment.

The Battle Simulator is for everyone and will be instantly accessible via the Entropia Universe user interface (UI). Avatars will compete under identical conditions: standard ‘simulator’ skill levels and weapons/ammo are applied upon entering the simulator. It’s stripped-down, old-fashioned arcade action where finishing and getting the fastest time is all that counts. Only your reflexes and strategies will determine your place on the leaderboard and the prizes you win.

The Battle Simulator will go platform-wide on the planned version update (VU) on February 28, 2017.

This actually sounds vaguely interesting though... I have a nasty feeling there will be a b$g c$tch though. It sounds like MA are looking to go "hey we have a 3d world that generally supports slow careful play - how much effort would it be to convert a bit of it into a sandbox blaster?" - they will almost certainly get the pricing all wrong though. Vehicles don't strike twice!

Yep, whatever MA will announce, it's worth nothing. McCormick reported this fact since ages. Big or small announcements from MA. All worthless. Most of them useless. I have to thank McCormick amongst other things for the chance to leave Entropia Universe. Kind of deprivation therapy.
I own an old tape cassette. A live-report from a booze-up in 1974 at our barracks of "Nationale Volksarmee der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik" (army of GDR=East Germany) in Potsdam-Geltow, Command Land Forces. No clue if I would be able to replay it with an old ghetto blaster after 43 years ... alas, I don't want it. It's really gone. Same with Entropia Universe - MY Universe for such a long time!

Yep, whatever MA will announce, it's worth nothing. McCormick reported this fact since ages. Big or small announcements from MA. All worthless. Most of them useless. I have to thank McCormick amongst other things for the chance to leave Entropia Universe. Kind of deprivation therapy.
I own an old tape cassette. A live-report from a booze-up in 1974 at our barracks of "Nationale Volksarmee der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik" (army of GDR=East Germany) in Potsdam-Geltow, Command Land Forces. No clue if I would be able to replay it with an old ghetto blaster after 43 years ... alas, I don't want it. It's really gone. Same with Entropia Universe - MY Universe for such a long time!

Click to expand...

I still have a working tape player... it is only just working though. A good one too. A walkman with the ability to auto fast forward/re-wind up to 3 tracks. Clever stuff!

8 months after the "State of the Universe"...which didnt promise much for 2017...
and delivered even less...namley, nothing.

No CLD plot updates. Last so called plot update was "gardening", exactly 1 year ago (9.2016).Wow.

No Compet Deed payout, no Compet for IOS (except as early release in Ukraine).
No "innovative cross-platform and cross-genre gaming experience"...
And just as a friendly reminder. Compet deed owners wait for a "Return of Investment" since 2014.

Seems like "Within the next months", means nothing inside of Entropia anymore.

I saw the 3D b2b offering. That's pretty much what Second Life offered ten years ago or so.

So far, MA is placing bets on CTE, mobile (too little, too late), and all of a sudden, B2B VR. They ought to stick to something they are good at, rather than attempting to fish out of different ponds at the same time, and failing all of those ventures.

I cannot help but wonder if both the ComPet and the VR offering they apparently have been working on since Q1 this year has removed their development resources from EU. I bet they have. Heck, I know they have.

CREATIVE COMMONS

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